We think we know what is real, what reality is, until we realize that reality, truth and being are all intertwined and that reality is not something that we can create, it is not something we can figure out in the mind, it is simply just what is.

We have a yearning to be free.

I feel like this is a basic desire, like food, water and shelter. A desire to find our authenticity, the self we would be without the external influences and controls suggesting how we should be.

The freedom that comes from spiritual practice is inner freedom, a feeling of ever-present love and joy within. A state where we can see that the mind creates a sense of self that is really a ‘mini-me’ and not the truth of who we are. And the very same mind thinks it knows what reality is. And maybe even thinks it can create our own reality.

However the mind only ever experiences what it creates, which is only ever a mental model.

Yes we can use the mind to move us towards change, what we put in our mind what we use to fill our mental space and take up the real estate there will shape what we do and how we see things. It is not reality itself. The mind makes up a model of reality.

Spiritual practice, at least in the way that I teach and share it,  is the work we do to see how the mind works and how it plays this trick on us. We could also call it our yoga on and off the mat practice, or yoga in everyday life practice. Or as my book is titled, Yoga off the mat, freedom in everyday life.

This is the work we do to see how the mind only ever gives us a model of Reality and a model of who we are.

Once we really can see this, we realize that Reality is just what it is, and whatever we think about it makes no difference.

It just is what it is. I think that spiritual practice is to help us really perceive this, and to help us discover our divine, expansive and connected nature.

Then what?

What happens when we do feel within and discover that we can be free regardless of the external circumstances?

That doesn’t mean that we have nothing left to do!

It means that our perspective changes, we see a bigger picture, we have a sense of connectedness and wholeness, and although we still use the mind and use words like me and you and reality, we know that these are words for communication but we don’t take them quite so seriously.

And we can also feel a bubbling up of our innermost desires.

We just might be guided back ‘home’ to ourselves, and to our sense of curiosity, desire, creativity and purpose.

Fun!

>> Do you agree? Have you ever thought about what can and does unfold from your ‘off the mat’ practice?

Fluff free freedom is an online course that helps you to find the state of inner freedom that comes from truly recognizing your mind for what it can and can’t do.  It takes you from stressed to calm, from uncertainty to clarity, to being present and mindful and to really getting clear on living your best life. Check it out here.

You can purchase your own set of these ‘Yoga off the mat, contemplations to enrich your practice’ cards from the store HERE.

The gorgeous original picture on the front of each card is by Gayle Stone Art.